4 tips to the best fried green tomatoes

This dish was made popular by the 1991 movie of the same name, based on the novel Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Café. It’s a true Southern dish. Use tomatoes that are not yet ripe, but don't use rock solid green tomatoes – you want ones that are starting to turn whitish in colour. Their flavour is then tangy but not sour like firm, really green ones. Soft and pink is not good either because they will fall apart when frying. In its simplest form, sliced green tomatoes are coated and then fried. I have seen coatings of breadcrumbs or crackers, but the most authentic coating is cornmeal (or polenta).

Slice your tomatoes quite thickly, then lay them out and season them with salt, black pepper and a drop or two of tabasco sauce on each slice. Dredge the slices in the fine cornmeal and cook them in a hot frying pan in either olive oil, or, more traditionally, something like bacon fat. The tomatoes should be crispy on the outside and soft in the middle.